Sustainable Food Consumption: Theory of Planned Behavior – The Case of Low Income Group in Penang, Malaysia.

Kemiskinan dan kemerosotan kuality alam sekitar sangat berkait rapat. Walaupun kemiskinan adalah salah satu penyebabkan kemorosotan alam sekitar tetapi masalah utama adalah disebabkan oleh pembelian dan penggunaan secara tidak lestari, terutama di negara perindustrian. Poverty and environmental degradation are closely interrelated. While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularly in industrialized countrie

Potential Therapeutic Effects of Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil as neuroprotective agent against neurotocixity induced opioid

Morphine is used as analgesics medication to reduce pain by inhibting transmission of pain impulses especially in spinal cord and modulation of central pain processing. Unfortunately, the increase abuse of opioids such as morphine or heroin often leads to various side effects such as addiction, tolerance and physical dependence. One of the proposed mechanisms that lead to morphine dependency and withdrawal is oxidative stress. Recent research has shown that olive fruit oil contains phenolic compounds which have higher antioxidant properties. In current study, we are trying to explore the ability of Olea Europaea (Olive) fruit oil to increase the antioxidant activity level subsequently alleviate morphine dependence and withdrawal. Better understanding on the effect of olive fruit oil on oxidative stress produced by olive to morphine dependency and withdrawal need to be further explored especially on the cellular and molecular level

Moderating Role of Competitive Environment between Knowledge Management, Human Capital and SMEs’ performance: Emerging Countries’ Perspective

The importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their economic contribution is acknowledged globally. Although SMEs in developed economies have become fairly competitive, their counterparts in the emerging economies have struggled in the rapidly evolving external environment. The objective of this study is to present a conceptual framework for SMEs in emerging economies targeted to raise their performance. Literature indicates that the low skill level of human resource and the lack of emphasis on knowledge management are the major factors behind the struggle of SMEs to establish themselves in emerging economies. Earlier studies have discovered a positive impact of knowledge management and human capital in raising SMEs’ performance. Literature also indicates that the influence of knowledge and human capital within SMEs’ performance varies due to the prevailing competitive conditions. Therefore, this study proposes a conceptual framework to leverage the performance of SMEs in emerging economies and examines how this relationship may vary when it interacts with the competitive environment

Relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, firm resources, SME branding and firm’s performance: is innovation the missing link?

Innovation is regarded as an engine for driving economic growth.Innovation is considered equally important for the large enterprises as well as the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).Role of innovation becomes of even greater importance in the context of the business environment of developing countries such as Pakistan, where most of the SMEs do not embrace rigorous innovation and at the same time there is lack of sufficient external support to encourage innovation.It has been discussed that despite of healthy economic contribution to Pakistan’s Economy, SMEs are facing a low growth trap.Innovation can come up as a potential solution specifically for Pakistani SMEs and generally for SMEs in developing countries in other parts of the world. This paper reviews the literature in a thorough manner in a bid to build a novel conceptual framework proposing that innovation has causal linkages with entrepreneurial orientation, firm resources, branding and firm performance. On the basis of literature review, four thoughtful research propositions have been presented in this paper. The proposed framework can lead to very useful insights as it proposes that branding may lead to innovation as opposed to generally believed concept of innovation leading to branding. This paper is built on the underpinning theories like Resource Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Perspective, and Theory of Economic Development. This paper also provides useful implications for the entrepreneurs as well as external institutions responsible for ensuring higher extent of innovation in SMEs in Pakistan

An analysis of Japanese conversation in interview context

Aizuchi or short utterance, and responses are some of the Japanese linguistic features. Each of them holds significant meaning and functions from the listener to the speaker. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the occurrence of Aizuchi, short utterance, and responses in the interview context by Japanese native speakers. By using 15 episodes of Easy Japanese videos, the study found a few types of Aizuchi, short utterance, and responses produced by the interviewee in the interview conversation. From the data, it was found that Aizuchi (hai), short utterances (hai), and responses (hai) occurred the most in interviewees’ utterances. Each hai held significant functions to maintain the naturalness of Japanese conversations. It also indicates that the term hai are frequently used in the Japanese conversation regardless of the context. The findings showed that Aizuchi, short responses and responses occur in the Japanese conversation in the interview context. In addition, the use of the term hai also extensively occurred in the conversation either as the Aizuchi, short response or response

Zamzam Water: Influence of Containers on Ionic Concentration and In-vitro Cytotoxic Effects on U87 Cell Line

Zamzam is holy water believed by Muslim to have remedial power for all kinds of diseases. It contains many electrolytes and the concentration of the electrolytes may be affected by the types of container used for its storage. This study was carried out to determine the difference in ions concentration of Zamzam water stored in plastic and glass containers, and to determine cytotoxicity effects of Zamzam water against U-87 cell line (human primary glioblastoma cell line). Ion Chromatography (IC) was used to analyze the concentration. The analyzed anions in the Zamzam water include bromide, chloride, phosphate, nitrite, nitrate, sulfate and fluoride whereas the cations were ammonium, lithium, potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium. Subsequently, MTT assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of Zamzam water on U-87 cell line. This study reveals that Zamzam water anions and cations concentration was not statistically significant neither in plastic nor glass container.  In addition, the Zamzam water did not cause any toxicity on the U87 cell line. We postulate that types of container do not have much influence on the ion concentration of Zamzam water and it is non-toxic on U87 cell line. Keywords: Zamzam water; ion concentration; plastic; glass; U87 cell line

Calibrated radar-derived rainfall data for rainfall-runoff modeling.

This study focuses on a technique to improve runoff modeling based on radar-derived rainfall and hydrological model for the whole watershed. GIS tools were used to provide the model parameters for the Upper Bernam River Basin (1090 km2), Malaysia. Virtual rainfall stations are created throughout the UBRB watershed. The rainfall data for these stations are estimated from raw weather radar data using newly developed program called RaDeR ver1.0. For this study, estimated radar rainfall data from Subang weather radar stations were compared and calibrated with actual rain gauge data. Radar-derived rainfall calibration model developed for Subang radar station was y=0.8772x. According to the model developed, the radar rainfall calibration factor (RCf) can be identified as 0.8772. The original estimated radar derived rainfall data should be adjusted before using the calibration factor (RCf). The model gives better correlation when adjusted radar values were used instead of the original radar rainfall values. The model calibration factor increased from 0.464 with R2 of 0.2759** to 0.8772 with R2 of 0.3655***. Finally, the virtual rainfall stations created throughout the river basin produced a more representative rainfall distribution. It is believed that watershed river flow can be better estimated by using radar-derived rainfall data

Effect of Liquid Flow Rate and Amine Concentration on CO 2 Removal from Natural Gas at High Pressure Operation in Packed Absorption Column

Abstract. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) from oil and natural gas operation at offshore platforms have significant contribution to global warming. The reduction of these GHG emissions is possible through CO 2 capture technology. This study reports the absorption performance of monoethanolamine (MEA) for the removal of CO 2 from natural gas (NG) at high pressure conditions. The absorption experiments were performed in an absorption column packed with Sulzer Metal Gauze Packing at 5.0 MPa operating pressure. The absorption performance was evaluated in terms of CO 2 removal (%) with liquid flow rate ranging from 1.81 to 4.51 m 3 /m 2 .h and MEA concentration of 1.0 -4.0 kmol/m 3 . It was found that CO 2 removal (%) had increased with increasing liquid flow rate and MEA concentration

Potential Neuroprotective Effect of Apis dorsata Honey Against Morphine Tolerance: An in-vivo Study

Background: To determine the effects of Apis dorsata honey on the development of morphine tolerance and oxidative stress in rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 40 male Sprague Dawley rats were injected (subcutaneous) with 10 mg/kg of morphine following oral administration of A. dorsata honey (0.5, 1.5, and 2.5g/kg). On day 15, the rats were euthanized, and the thalamus, spinal cord, and hippocampus were homogenized to assess iNOS and MDA using ELISA kits.Results: The honey of A. dorsata significantly prevented morphine tolerance to analgesia in the hotplate test on Day 14 (p<0.05). The biochemical assessment showed that A. dorsata honey significantly reduced MDA formation in the brain regions compared to the morphine control group at dose 2.5g/kg. Elevation of iNOS caused by chronic morphine intake was reduced in A. dorsata honey co-treatment. Conclusion: This study suggests the therapeutic role of A. dorsata honey in preventing morphine tolerance via inhibition of oxidative stress

Financial Ratio Analysis: An Assessment Of Malaysian Contracting Firms

This paper examines the role of financial management in the success or failure of construction firms. According to previous studies on the impact of financial factors in the failure of construction projects, poor financial management and lack of capital are the main determinants of construction failure. Failures in the construction industry are experienced not only by developing countries but also worldwide, and the failure scenario is present in the construction industry in Malaysia. The failure rate of construction companies in Malaysia is high. According to the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB), from January 2006 to August 2008, 11,321 construction companies were classified as dormant and non-active. There are very few successful contractors in Malaysia, and most construction projects cannot be completed within the original schedule. The sources of failure are directly related to financial factors. In this case study, 17 financial ratios were used to measure companies' financial performance. Six medium and large Bumiputera contractors were selected as case studies. This study found that most Bumiputera construction companies had insufficient cash capital to finance their construction work, experienced a low profit margin from construction projects and were highly dependent on debt capital to finance their construction costs. There was a lack of monitoring systems for cash flow and project costs. Without effective financial practices, construction companies are setting themselves up for failure